Sausage digits anyone??

[jdgarwood]

Sorry if this question has been asked before, but I'm curious about how common the "sausage digits" are in people with PA. I've had PA for about 3 years and most of my affected joints are from the hips down. I've never experienced this aspect of the disease and I'm wondering if I'm actually in the minority as far as swollen fingers and toes. I've been on Enbrel for 6 months now and I've been quite pleased with the results. I still know that I have PA, but my quality of life has greatly improved. Lately, I've noticed some stiffness in my fingers, but so far, no real swelling. It seems like most of the people that post on the boards have at some point experienced this...or am I wrong? Thanks everyone!

Joel

[Nasus]

I am a newbie today. I have had Psoriatic Arthritis for 6 months now, mostly my knees and one baby toe joint. My fingers are sore and stiff too. I am also dealing with carpal tunnel at the same time. See surgeon this week about it. I too am wondering if I will get sausage digits eventually also. Good luck. Hopefully someone will tell us. This is the greatest site to talk it out on.

[mdt13]

I had some, but the good drugs have returned my digits to pre-sausage condition.

[Petdoc]

Hi all,

I have only had PA for 6 months. I had a little pain in one toe and one finger for a few days and then BAM...sausage digits. So, basically for me, the pain only proceeded the swelling by days. Hopefully, if you don't have swelling now, you won't get swelling. That would be nice, huh!

Megan

[janelee]

My fingers have been really stiff. This just came on about a month ago. I have not had problems with my toes. My ankles are really bad and hurt. Saturday we pulled weeds in the yard and my fingers hurt really bad today. I am just now getting the feeling back in the pad of my pinky finger. I am assuming this is normal.....well normal for PA that is.....what do you think?

[lewislibrarian]

My toes were among the first joints affected for me. Because my first rheum was far too conservative, I have permanently damaged toes. The knuckles (do you call them knuckles on your feet?) are ossified, giving me "claw toes". I'm only 28, and I have senior citizen feet!

In comparison, my fingers are hardly affected. One thumb became inflamed after about 3 years, and also has suffered from the failure to treat hard and fast...I have permanent loss of range of motion and permanent deformity in the joint nearest the palm.

The middle finger on the same hand became inflamed about 8 years past dx. A course of prednisone helped tremendously, but it too has loss of range of motion (though less severe than my toe or thumb) and permanent deformity. I've said this here before, but as a children's librarian doing 1 little, 2 little, 3 little Indians, having a middle finger that doesn't work right is a bucket o' laughs :rolleyes:

[janelee]

"I've said this here before, but as a children's librarian doing 1 little, 2 little, 3 little Indians, having a middle finger that doesn't work right is a bucket o' laughs !!"
.
LOL!!! That is pretty funny. My middle fingers on both hands are the ones that are the worst. They are not deformed...but they are really stiff and I am having a hard time bending them right now. And for the record....I promise that I DON'T use those fingers much!! ;-)

[jessicastranz]

I was diagnosed with PA when I was 14 years old. I've had it now for 9 years. Sausage toes are a thing I've had to deal with. I tell people that if they were only looking at my toes - you would think I weighed 400 pounds. My toes were huge. I've been on Enbrel now for 6 weeks and ALL the swelling has gone down. I think the "sausage" effect is very common - you're lucky if you don't have it.

[jdgarwood]

I've been on Enbrel now for 6 weeks and ALL the swelling has gone down. I think the "sausage" effect is very common - you're lucky if you don't have it.

I may have ended up with a few swolen fingers/toes....I went through a very bad flare last summer prior to starting on Enbrel. My knees and ankles were so swolen that I thought they'd never look normal again. I guess I should feel lucky that I haven't had to deal with the swollen digits (knock on wood).

Joel

[crazyme]

My PA started about 5 months ago. I have 2 sausage toes and 2 sausage fingers currently. Starting sulfasalazine tonight so it will hopefully go down. I look so funny! And, of course, the pain is a barrel of laughs.